Monday 28 May 2007, 13.30–17.00

Hélio Oiticica (1937-1980) was one of the most innovative Brazilian artists of his generation. Colour was central to his practice. From abstract compositions to early environmental installations, his work took apart the traditional elements of painting to create new spatial forms that were often activated by the viewer.

A crucial point in Oiticica’s passionate experiments with the integration of colour, structure, time and space, was the concept of the Parangolé. Constructed from a variety of coloured textiles and fabrics, Parangolés are wearable artworks whose complex structure and textures are meant to be revealed through the movements of the person who puts them on. Oiticica developed these ’habitable paintings’ between 1964-1968, as a result of his involvement with the deprived but vital community of the Mangueira favela and his immersion into the world of traditional Brazilian Samba.

Designed to be carried, worn or inhabited, whilst moving to the rhythm of Samba, these works represent the fullest participation of the viewer with the artwork and the embodiment of colour in the environment: a kind of ‘living painting’.

On Monday afternoon, visitors are invited to sign up for a workshop and take part in a one-off performance presenting Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica’s Parangolés as a participatory dance event led by the London School of Samba on the north landscape of the museum, by the River Thames.

Hélio Oiticica’s recently acquired installation, Tropicália (1967) can be seen in the display Oiticica in London in the level 5 joiner galleries.

Hélio Oiticica: The Body of Colour opens at Tate Modern on 6 June 2007.

 

About LSS

The first samba school in the UK, the London School of Samba was formed by a group of South American and European musicians in 1984 and celebrates 23 years of samba in London in 2007. It has gained a reputation as one of Europe’s leading samba groups, performing more than 40 times each year.

The LSS is a charity and voluntary organisation. All proceeds from performances go towards LSS activities. These include open-access public workshops; annual participation in Notting Hill Carnival and outreach projects with local schools and other charities.

 

Tate Modern  Turbine Hall
Free, no bookings taken

  

This event is related to the Hélio Oiticica: The Body of Colour exhibition